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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Three Kings Day Celebration at Atlanta History Center Brings Smiles to Hundreds of Hispanic Kids

It
was all smiles on January 6, as hundreds of children celebrated the
arrival of the Three Kings at the Atlanta History Center. Sponsored
by the Instituto de Mexico
in conjunction with the Atlanta
History Center, the Three Kings Day celebration is becoming bigger,
and better every year.

Visitors
of all ages learned about the tradition through music, live
performances, workshops, prizes and delicious traditional treats such
as tamales, atole (Mexican chocolate) and the traditional “Rosca de
Reyes” for children, and an appearance by The Three Kings. New this
year, was a live nativity and a petting zoo for the little ones.

Three
Kings' Day is an important Christmas holiday in Spain and several
Latin America countries. It is called El Dia de los Reyes in Spanish.
And in many Latin American countries, Three Kings Day is even a
bigger holiday than Christmas. Three Kings Day falls annually on
January 6th, and according to the Bible, marks the end of the Wise
Men's 12-day journey to pay tribute to Jesus in Bethlehem to shower
him with gifts.

Instead of
leaving milk and cookies beside the tree, children typically leave
grass and water under their beds to feed the kings' camels, in hopes
the kings return the favor with gifts of their own. In places
like Spain and Mexico, los Reyes Magos - Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar
- are also celebrated with a traditional sweet bread called roscón
or rosca de reyes, in which a figurine is baked in it (luck is
granted to the person who finds it - or conversely, that person needs
to host a dinner on el Dia de la Candelaria, on February 2nd.)